SimpleKDE Thoughts and Views

[jedihobbes@gmail.com]

Hi All,

   I've been looking at SimpleKDE for a little while now, and in an
organisation where we're looking at rolling out KDE to "the masses",
it seems an elegant and simple addition to the software we're planning
on rolling out anyway. That having been said, some of our developers
and IT staff are more open-source "aware" (for want of a better term)
then the average user. We could, of course, allow users to select
whether they want SimpleKDE or "normal" KDE, but that is a time
consuming and resource intensive process. What I'd like to see is
SimpleKDE integrated into KDE so that either an administrator or a
regular user can enable/disable the "advanced/complicated/confusing"
aspects of straight KDE. In other words, how about an interface more
in line with VLC's where, when you're working in the configuration
system, you have the choice of either globally enabling or disabling
"Advanced Options". By default, KDE can ship with it ON, and we can
universally turn it OFF in our organisation. How much could this
possible add to the final code?

   Of course, if the aim of SimpleKDE is not JUST to clean the
interface, but to clean the code base too, then we are in a bit of a
fix, as KDE+SimpleKDE would still leave us with the "dirty" code that
SimpleKDE wants to clean out. Perhaps SimpleKDE could continue in its
existing "clean code/clean interface" fork (is it a fork,
technically?) whilst still contributing changes to KDE concurrently,
thereby making KDE "clean-interface-ready", if not "clean-code-ready".
Ok, now that I've sufficiently wrapped my neck round my arm (twice),
any views on this?

Thanks,
   Riccardo Spagni